Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro admitted on the company’s latest earnings call that “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” and the live-action “Moana” remake both underperformed at the box office this summer, although he maintained that both titles were not outright busts for the studio as they contributed to merchandise sales, drove people to theme parks and more.
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“Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with the ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ and the live-action ‘Moana,’ our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company,” D’Amaro said.
“‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ drove healthy growth in retail sales for the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well,” he explained. “And the live-action ‘Moana’ is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most-streamed movies of all time.”
Disney summed up its outlook on these box office disappointments by writing in its earnings release: “These franchise investments contributed to value creation beyond their theatrical releases.”
“The Mandalorian and Grorgu” opened over Memorial Day Weekend and earned $81 million at the domestic box office during its debut, an underwhelming start for a “Star Wars” movie. The film went on to earn $345 million worldwide, far below the billion-dollar grosses of the previous “Star Wars” film releases “The Rise of Skywalker” and “The Last Jedi.”
The live-action “Moana,” which featured Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui, opened last month and has only earned $262 million worldwide on a reported production budget in the $250 million range. Variety reported the movie stands to lose $100 million in theaters for Disney.
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston echoed D’Amaro’s views on these box office disappointments by saying: “Theatrical performance is important to us, of course, and we certainly aspire to deliver consistent financial results for our films. But the nature of the film industry is such that it is more of a portfolio game. The good news for us is our diversified business helps us basically cover the volatility that comes out of the the film business… the theatrical window in a lot of ways is just one data point, and the real value of that IP is the cumulative benefit of decades-long storytelling and our ability to take that IP and lay it into the entirety of the Disney flywheel.”
On the earnings call, Joh D’Amaro pivoted from addressing Disney’s box office failures this year to praising the record-breaking success of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Disney-owned Marvel Studios shares the Spider-Man character with Sony Pictures. While Sony is behind the release of “Brand New Day,” the movie is a part of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. D’Amaro said the movie’s success bodes well for Disney’s “Avengers: Doomsday” later this year.
“Congratulations to Sony, Kevin Feige, and the Marvel Studios team. It’s an unbelievable result, and it’s one more example that audiences will turn out in force for great theatrical experiences,” D’Amaro said. “65 years after his debut, Spider-Man remains one of the most popular characters through consumer products, parks, and streaming. And this weekend, it’s a great reminder of just how much strength this franchise still has. And it goes without saying that the success of Spider-Man bodes well for our upcoming and highly anticipated ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ film.”
“Avengers: Endgame” arrives in theaters Dec. 18.